Isis has claimed its first attack in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Two Congolese soldiers and a civilian were killed in a shoot-out on Tuesday in Bovata, near the town of Beni.

Isis also claimed to have established a province in central Africa, declaring it the “Central Africa Province” of the “caliphate” through its Amaq news agency.

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It was not possible to verify the terror group’s claim, which included a higher toll of five soldiers killed and three wounded.

There are more than a dozen different militia groups and criminal outfits operating in this area of eastern DRC.

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ISIS began as a group by the merging of extremist organisations ISI and al-Nusra in 2013.
Following clashes, Syrian rebels captured the ISIS headquarters in Aleppo in January 2014 (pictured)

AFP/Getty

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Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi declared the creation of a caliphate in Mosul on 27 June 2014

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Isis conquered the Kurdish towns of Sinjar and Zumar in August 2014, forcing thousands of civilians to flee their homes. Pictured are a group of Yazidi Kurds who have fled

Rex

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On September 2 2014 Isis released a video depicting the beheading of US journalist Steven Sotloff. On September 13 they released another video showing the execution of British aid worker David Haines

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The US launched its first airstrikes against Isis in Syria on 23 September 2014. Here Lt Gen William C Mayville Jnr speaks about the bombing campaign in the wake of the first strikes

Getty

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Isis militants sit atop a hill planted with their flag in the Syrian town of Kobani on 6 October 2014. They had been advancing on Kobani since mid-September and by now was in control of the city’s entrance and exit points

AFP/Getty

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Residents of the border village of Alizar keep guard day and night as they wait in fear of mortar fire from Isis who have occupied the nearby city of Kobani

Getty

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Smoke rises following a US airstrike on Kobani, 28 October 2014

AFP/Getty

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YPG fighters raise a flag as they reclaim Kobani on 26 January 2015

VOA

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Isis seized the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra on 20 May 2015. This image show the city from above days after its capture by Isis

Getty

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Kurdish forces are stationed on a hill above the town of Sinjar as smoke rises following US airstrikes on 12 November 2015

AFP/Getty

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Kurdish forces enter Sinjar after seizing it from Isis control on 13 November 2015

AFP/Getty

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Iraqi government forces make the victory sign as they retake the city of Fallujah from ISIS on 26 June 2016

Getty

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Iraqi forces battle with Isis for the city of Mosul on 30 June 2017

AFP/Getty

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Members of the Iraqi federal police raise flags in Mosul on 8 July 2017. On the following day, Iraqi prime minister Haider Al Abadi declares victory over Isis in Mosul

Getty

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Members of Syrian Democratic Forces celebrate in Al-Naim square after taking back the city of Raqqa from Isis. US-backed Syrian forces declare victory over Isis in Raqqa on 20 October 2017 after a four-month long campaign

Getty

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Female fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces celebrate in Al-Naim Square after taking back the city of Raqqa from Isis. US-backed Syrian forces declare victory over Isis in Raqqa on 20 October 2017 after a four-month long campaign

AFP/Getty

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Trucks full of women and children arrive from the last Isis-held areas in Deir ez-Zor, Syria in January 2019
They were among the last civilians to be living in the ISIS caliphate, by this time reduced to just two small villages in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor

Richard Hall/The Independent

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Zikia Ibrahim, 28, with her two-year-old son and 8-month-old daughter, after fleeing the Isis caliphate, on Saturday 26 January 2019

Richard Hall/The Independent

1/19

ISIS began as a group by the merging of extremist organisations ISI and al-Nusra in 2013.
Following clashes, Syrian rebels captured the ISIS headquarters in Aleppo in January 2014 (pictured)

AFP/Getty

2/19

Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi declared the creation of a caliphate in Mosul on 27 June 2014

3/19

Isis conquered the Kurdish towns of Sinjar and Zumar in August 2014, forcing thousands of civilians to flee their homes. Pictured are a group of Yazidi Kurds who have fled

Rex

4/19

On September 2 2014 Isis released a video depicting the beheading of US journalist Steven Sotloff. On September 13 they released another video showing the execution of British aid worker David Haines

5/19

The US launched its first airstrikes against Isis in Syria on 23 September 2014. Here Lt Gen William C Mayville Jnr speaks about the bombing campaign in the wake of the first strikes

Getty

6/19

Isis militants sit atop a hill planted with their flag in the Syrian town of Kobani on 6 October 2014. They had been advancing on Kobani since mid-September and by now was in control of the city’s entrance and exit points

AFP/Getty

7/19

Residents of the border village of Alizar keep guard day and night as they wait in fear of mortar fire from Isis who have occupied the nearby city of Kobani

Getty

8/19

Smoke rises following a US airstrike on Kobani, 28 October 2014

AFP/Getty

9/19

YPG fighters raise a flag as they reclaim Kobani on 26 January 2015

VOA

10/19

Isis seized the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra on 20 May 2015. This image show the city from above days after its capture by Isis

Getty

11/19

Kurdish forces are stationed on a hill above the town of Sinjar as smoke rises following US airstrikes on 12 November 2015

AFP/Getty

12/19

Kurdish forces enter Sinjar after seizing it from Isis control on 13 November 2015

AFP/Getty

13/19

Iraqi government forces make the victory sign as they retake the city of Fallujah from ISIS on 26 June 2016

Getty

14/19

Iraqi forces battle with Isis for the city of Mosul on 30 June 2017

AFP/Getty

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Members of the Iraqi federal police raise flags in Mosul on 8 July 2017. On the following day, Iraqi prime minister Haider Al Abadi declares victory over Isis in Mosul

Getty

16/19

Members of Syrian Democratic Forces celebrate in Al-Naim square after taking back the city of Raqqa from Isis. US-backed Syrian forces declare victory over Isis in Raqqa on 20 October 2017 after a four-month long campaign

Getty

17/19

Female fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces celebrate in Al-Naim Square after taking back the city of Raqqa from Isis. US-backed Syrian forces declare victory over Isis in Raqqa on 20 October 2017 after a four-month long campaign

AFP/Getty

18/19

Trucks full of women and children arrive from the last Isis-held areas in Deir ez-Zor, Syria in January 2019
They were among the last civilians to be living in the ISIS caliphate, by this time reduced to just two small villages in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor

Richard Hall/The Independent

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Zikia Ibrahim, 28, with her two-year-old son and 8-month-old daughter, after fleeing the Isis caliphate, on Saturday 26 January 2019

Richard Hall/The Independent

Witnesses at the scene blamed an Islamist group called the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which may have links to Isis, a UN source and local civil society leader told Reuters.

A report by New York University’s Congo Research Group and the Bridgeway Foundation published in November said the ADF had received money from a financier linked to Isis, suggesting ties between the Congo insurgents and other jihadis in Africa and beyond.

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Congolese president Felix Tshisekedi has recently said Isis poses a threat to his nation and said his government would join the fight against extremists.

He has accused the ADF of allowing the infiltration of extremists.

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Rival militia groups control parts of eastern Congo, which is rich in minerals, long after the official end of a 1998-2003 war in which millions of people were killed.

The town of Beni, near to where the attack happened, is suffering through both an Ebola epidemic and militia violence.